On Oct 27th, DesignUp 18 wrappedUp 🙌

Our 3rd edition was the largest so far, with over 750+ people coming from across 5 continents—discussing civic data, healthcare, design systems, leadership, building teams, navigating cities, funding social initiatives, designing on trust and much more. The team has been on a break, but we're back with this special issue dedicated to a promise we made on stage - to help a community in the Hills harness the creative strengths, the expertise and enterprise that you bring. So read on.

More news, details and updates to follow in forthcoming issues. The DesignUp talk videos are coming soon 🤞

On stage at DesignUp 2018 in Bangalore, Saritha Thomas, founder of People’s Power Collective (PPC), enthralled us with stories of deep, meaningful change through low tech, with a human touch: the community radio (talk available soon). Inspired by the talk - DesignIndaba founder Ravi Naidoo (#DUp18 closing Keynote speaker) and the DesignUp team multiplied forces to create the first DU+DI Challenge.

🏔The Problem

People’s Power Collective (or PPC) is doing some exemplary work up in the hills of Uttarakhand, India. The Community Radio initiative impacts a number of areas: local issues, women’s empowerment, community education, disaster preparedness and relief. Unlike health, education, or sanitation - the benefits of community radio are not easy to understand in a few words, let alone 280 character tweet. Given that these are deeply interwoven systemic changes and far far away in the remote hills - awareness and understanding is one of the key problems that Saritha and the PPC team has identified.

Better understanding and greater awareness translates to building trust, creating involvement and leads to individual and corporate donors. It also leads to getting professional volunteers who are crucial to running and growing these stations.

We need your bright ideas and blueprints to help them raise the profile of the org, share the community initiatives that are transforming the social fabric of these remote regions, and bring it closer to individual donors, and professionals down in India’s vast plains and beyond. Your challenge is to raise the mindshare, cut through everyday clutter, and generate involvement with urban Indians (and beyond India) through the use of meaningful action and interactions.

🗝Your Solutions

The solution could be an app, a website, a game, an “insert” or campaign in a larger app/service ecosystem (eg Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn), an interactive installation, a service—or a combination of these, and/or a campaign. We are looking for design and digital interventions that help people understand the work being done by PPC and/or the impact of their work.

Your solution would encompass the following:

• In a simple, and a memorable way, convey the work being done by PPC. Use of metaphors, stories and other modes are welcome. Remember there are many dimensions to this initiative and it's impact.

• Trigger engagement with PPC - this could be a small meaningful action but helps people understand or see the possible impact. Envision the larger picture and connect with it in some meaningful way without donating (not looking for donations now).

• Generate Virality - lead to engagement and increased mind-share.

 These would also be the broad criteria for judging the entries.

🔬The Details

The submission: Entries should be a PDF or Keynote/PowerPoint Presentation or a PDF landscape in a 4:3 format (think of an A4 landscape). It should not exceed six slides or pages. Be succinct, distill the solution down to essentials, showcase your idea in a crisp, clear fashion. The solution can be explained with images, illustrations, workflows, text, script, storyboard and any other representational style.

You can also provide a link in case there is a fully or partially working prototype. A walkthrough video would be desirable but not mandatory.

An individual may submit upto 3 ideas/entries via this link.

The Challenge is open to individuals over 18 years of age (not teams). Students and professionals are both welcome to participate, but there are no separate categories or prizes.

The deadline for submission is Monday, Jan 14th, 2019 by 5pm IST

The winners will be announced on Wednesday, Jan 30th, 2019

✈️ The Prizes

The creator of the most ingenious solution, the 1st prize winner, gets an all expenses trip to the CapeTown, South Africa, to attend the Design Indaba Festival Feb 27-March 1, 2019 on a VIP pass. Two runners up receive premium passes to the DesignUp 2019 Conference in Bangalore, India (Oct/Nov 2019) and a chance to interact with all the speakers. All promising and winning entries will be showcased at DesignUp 2019.

🏆 The Reward

We will explore the options to make these ideas a reality with you, PPC and DesignIndaba. The real reward is being able to see your design move from a presentation to reality, being used, making an impact - impacting human lives for the better.

🔮 More Qs?

An AMA session with Saritha is planned in the next few weeks (we'll announce via social media plus this newsletter). You could also write to us at [email protected] and we’ll aim to answer these or have PPC answer these for you.

= = = =

More DesignUp news & other inspiration coming soon ⛵️⛵️

@jdallcaps

PS: looking for more context to the problem? Here goes—

🖇 The Issue(s)

In the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, in the foothills of the Himalayas, every day from 6am to 9 am, 12pm to 2:30 pm and 3pm to 7:30 pm, Mandakani ki Awaz, can be heard on 90.8 FM. The radio station is located in Sena Gadsari village, at an elevation of 345 meters or 1100 feet. The station was launched in September, 2014, with the support of Bangalore-based organisation, People's Power Collective (PPC).

Community radio can broadcast locally relevant informative, instructional and entertainment content for people to be aware, learn and participate in their community. It helps people tell their stories and creates campaign for change. It creates cohesive rural communities and helps societal progress. It can also be a great communication and support channel during disaster relief.

A community radio can become a great vehicle for change in Indian rural communities through smart edutainment in areas like women empowerment, childcare and skill development. Issues that are otherwise hidden can be made visible to citizens or officials and can be resolved through effective communication.

The Issue(s):

However to establish and operate a community radio like Mandakini ki Awaz you have to face a few challenges—

Unlike initiatives around healthcare or education, environment or sanitation—clarity in value proposition is harder: How can a community radio pave way for change? How can it inform, teach and entertain? How can it engage communities and make them participate in progress? How can it be progressive, profitable and show a clear return on investment? How can it help avoid human loss in disasters and natural calamities?

Money and resources are scarce: Though there is a government fund earmarked for community radio stations it has not been granted to anyone. So the only way to gather resources for the radio is through grants and donations. But to sustain the inflow is challenging.

Donors’ have less awareness and so less trust: The donors are institutions and urban individuals who are removed from this context. As the value proposition is not clearly communicated the donors do not see where their money is being deployed. They do not hear or participate in the content. They do not know how effective the broadcast is or has been during times of disaster.

These are some of the issues we are trying to communicate with clarity, help people empathise and see the change.

Also remember, PPC's website can provide more details: https://www.peoplespower-co.org/

All the best 🤞